Proverbs 18:10 - No Safety but the Safety of the Lord

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Since the storms and tornadoes nearly two weeks ago, there have been some small changes in the area. People are paying more attention to the weather and there are signs up in front of some shops proudly announcing that “storm shelters are sold here!” Even more than that however, people are wondering why God would allow such devastation.

Of course, we remember that Jesus addressed that issue in Luke 13:1-5 and basically said that bad stuff happens and will yo be ready?  People forget that though. We hear all about the safety and security about being a Christ-follower, not realizing that Christ himself said that we will be persecuted and scourged and imprisoned because of Him! (Matthew 24:9, Mark 13:9-13, John 16:2)

God provides safety, sanctuary, and peace. However, this is not the safety, sanctuary, and peace that people want to think of. God's peace is only shown in the middle of the storms of life, His sanctuary is most visible during trouble, and His safety is only seen after the fact. We won't know all that we were protected from until we have the chance to ask the Lord at the End of Days.  Most certainly God will protect us from many of the unseen dangers in our lives, but we won't really know just how close we came until we can ask.

Sometimes however, there is a confluence of events where something happens and just the sheer improbability of surviving points to God's direct intervention. One of my friends lived in Joplin and was at home with his two daughters when the tornado hit. He had them wrapped in blankets and in the bathtub with himself over top of them covering them with his body as the twister's winds started tearing at the house. The wall next to them fell down on top of them in the tub, but landed jammed onto a pile of rubble on the other side of the tub, and so between the rubble and the wall all the damage and debris  flying around never hit my friend or his daughters. The probability of the wall falling when it did and landing wedged against another pile of rubble that just happened to be there and thus taking all the damage is really low. When you realize that the only thing left standing in that house was the doorway between the house and the garage then you see the destructive nature of the forces at work, and yet against all odds, these three survived. God does provide safety and in some cases we realize it.

The fact of the matter is that God loves everyone, and He allows us our own wills, motives, and desires. Those wills, motives, and desires can get us into trouble and God in His sorrow must let us bare the consequences. Though we may complain about that, we never really truly realize how much of the brunt of that burden He carried for us. We never know just how much worse it could have been. Really, the safest place in the world for anyone to be is the center of God's will for our lives. If that takes us to the middle of a war zone or to placid, quiet suburbia then so be it. That is where we will be safest. Remember that He uses everything that happens to further His glory.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
                                                  Horatio Spafford, 1873.